A/N: Hello gentle readers! This is my second attempt at a Dramione fic. I have this set somewhere randomly during their school years. I prefer to put it somewhere in year six, but you can set it anywhere you would like. That is the wonder of this story. You can give it any back story you want. It can be AU or just expertly placed throughout other events. I'll leave that up to you.
I should warn you that some of the later scenes were written while I was watching Gilmore Girls and I believe they ended up a bit Gilmore-esque.
Keep in mind that I LOVE reviews! Any constructive criticism is invited. Please let me know if you find grammatical or spelling errors. Thanks!
Also, flames will be extinguished with an aguamenti charm.
Disclaimer: I do not own the HP universe or characters. I just enjoy manipulating storylines!
And now, without further ado, I give you the story. ~~~ Kat
Childish Ways
In preschool we learn that if a boy is picking on you it means he likes you. So why doesn't the smartest witch of the grade figure this out?
Hermione rushed through the halls with her books held tight to her chest. She only had fifteen minutes to get to Transfiguration and it was on the other side of the castle. Also she wanted to get there early so she could speak to Professor McGonagall about an assignment. She dodged and rushed around the slew of students ambling through the building. If only people wouldn't stand around blocking others way it would be so much simpler.
She was halfway through a small corridor she liked to use as a detour when someone stepped right in front of her and wouldn't move. "Get out of the way." She said hastily with a tinge of anger in her voice. She was not in the mood for this.
"What lovely manners you have there, Granger." Sneered the blonde boy blocking her way.
"Just bloody move, Malfoy." Hermione growled back as she pushed her way past him.
"On your merry way then." He called after her.
"Oh, shut up!" she shouted as she hurried on to Transfiguration.
Potions was Hermione's least favorite class of the day. Not because of the subject but because she had to deal with Slytherins. Mainly Malfoy and his cronies. This day was worse than the others.
Hermione was hunched over her potions book and cauldron. The potion they were working on was very advanced. One wrong move and it could explode in your face.
"Two stirs clockwise, one stir counter." She read aloud as she did so.
Just then someone walked over to her table and stood in front of her as she worked. "You're very intent on your work, Granger. I expected you to be done already. I am."
"No you're not, Malfoy. Now will you leave me alone?" She didn't look up from her work once. Her eyes shifted down to her book and Malfoy took the opportunity to slip an owl feather into her cauldron.
"Oh, alright. You're no fun to annoy if you don't pay attention." He said and began to walk away. He looked back just as the bushy haired girl's attention went back to her cauldron. She stirred it once clockwise and – POOF! It exploded right in her face. Draco and the other Slytherins erupted in laughter.
"Malfoy!" she screamed, her face covered in ash. "You slipped something into my potion didn't you?!"
"Whatever do you mean, Granger? I would never do such a thing." He said in a sarcastically innocent tone.
Hermione decided she didn't feel like fighting about it so she just grabbed a towel and wiped the soot off her face and went back to work. But not before she noticed a peculiar gleam in Malfoy's eye.
From behind her Hermione heard someone shout "Engorgio!" The books in her hands suddenly began growing until she was forced to drop them from being too difficult to carry. She turned to see Malfoy and his cronies laughing uncontrollably. She merely countered the spell and walked off.
Draco's laugh was forced. Usually he enjoyed tormenting Granger, but things were beginning to change. He was finding it difficult to be so mean to her. He still annoyed her because he couldn't let everyone else think he had gone soft. Today it was even harder. He couldn't truly laugh at what he had done. He wondered what was happening to him.
The snow was heavy and Hermione couldn't help but take a walk in it. She donned a large coat and walked down by the lake. It was nice to have some time to herself. Unless it wasn't time to herself….
Just as she had slipped into a deep reverie of thought a snowball hit her on the arm. She whipped around to come face to face with Draco Malfoy. Of course, he had come to once again annoy her. She turned back around in an attempt to ignore him. Another snowball hit her in the back.
"Could you just leave me alone, Malfoy?" she said, exasperated, turning to face him.
"Learn to have some fun, Granger." He replied with an oddly playful smile.
"Fun? Getting pelted with snowballs? Do you think that's supposed to be fun?"
"If you pelt back it is." He had a point.
Hermione then decided to make a snowball and aim it at him. It hit him square in the chest. He was caught off balance and nearly fell backward. Hermione doubled over in laughter. "You think that's funny?" he said as he righted himself. His next snowball hit her on the shoulder.
Their fight continued. Snowballs flew at each other, some hitting, others missing. They laughed all the while. Hermione had forgotten how fun a snowball fight could be.
Hermione backed up against a tree, feeling a bit tired. She threw one last snowball before collapsing at the base of the tree, giggling uncontrollably. Malfoy approached her, snowball in hand, ready to aim, a childish smile on his face. He looked at her and the smile became less childish and playful but more simply happy.
Draco let the snowball drop from his hand and before she knew what was happening he had bent down and swept Hermione into a kiss. At first all she felt was surprise, but then she realized she was happy. She never thought that kissing him could feel so right.
He pulled away and she expected him to run, but he didn't. Instead he sat down next to her. They looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Then Hermione knew what to ask. "Why did you do that?"
"I like you, that's why." He stated, grinning at her.
"What kind of joke is this?!" she exclaimed as she jumped to her feet.
"It's not a joke." He replied standing as well and blocking any quick getaway she had planned. "Hermione, I like you." He had never said her first name before. She liked the way it sounded.
"No you don't." she replied. "You hate me."
"What makes you think that?"
"You're always annoying me and being a git."
"Are you really that naïve? Did no one ever teach you these things? I only did those things because I like you." He grabbed her hands but she pulled them away as she pushed passed him.
"I have to go." She mumbled as she ran back to the castle.
"Ginny?" Hermione said cautiously when she walked into the girl's dormitory. "Ginny, I really need my best friend right now."
The red haired girl's head popped out of the bathroom. "Oh god, what's happened?" She asked worriedly as she rushed to her best friend's side. Hermione threw herself face-first onto Ginny's bed. Ginny sat down next to her.
"I'm so confused." Hermione mumbled into the pillow.
"You're confused? Well, then there's no hope for the rest of us." Ginny joked. Hermione gave her a blank look. "Okay. Not joking time yet then. Now tell me what's happened." She said and patted her friend's arm.
"I just had a snowball fight with Malfoy." She began shyly.
"A snowball fight? Like an 'I want this snowball to go through your skull' kind of snowball fight?"
"No. A really fun, childish snowball fight."
"I see why this is confusing."
"That's not the really confusing part."
"Oh… wow. It gets worse?" Ginny was already confused. She had no idea how it could get more so.
"Well… he… he kind of…." Hermione was chickening out. Why had she started saying it all in the first place?
"Out with it, Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. "You've started saying it, now you have to finish. I am not going to let you off the hook here!"
"Well… he told me he likes me." Hermione buried her face into a pillow.
"What?!" Ginny's mouth hung open in astonishment. "You're joking, right?"
"No… I'm not. He-he kissed me and then told me he liked me. I thought he was joking but-"
"He kissed you?!" The red head looked like she might faint from surprise.
"Yes….." Hermione whispered. "I thought it was all a joke, but he was being so sincere. He has never been that nice or fun to be around."
"Hold it. Once more with the him kissing you part."
"Yes… he kissed me."
"And…..?"
"And what? What are you getting at, Ginny?" The bushy haired genius was once again confused.
"Well… did you like it? Kissing him? I mean, did you kiss him back?" Hermione's best friend looked excited to know. This put her mind at ease a bit.
"Ummmm…. Yes. I did. I kissed him back." She unintentionally grinned at the memory.
"Oh my god! You like him!" shouted Ginny. "You like Draco Malfoy!"
"Quiet down you idiot! The whole world doesn't have to know!"
"Oh. Sorry. Well, what are you going to do about all this? You're not a very likely couple."
Hermione looked at her friend with some shock in her eyes. "Are you saying that you're okay with it?"
"You like who you like. It's nothing you can control. And I'm here for help." She replied supportively.
"Oh, Ginny, thank you!" Hermione threw herself at her best friend and hugged her fiercely. "I don't know what to do about it. I left kind of quick. I don't know if he'll even talk to me again."
Hermione was once more rushing through the halls on her way to class. She hurried down a deserted corridor and was surprised when someone swept her books out of her hands. It was Draco. He looked sideways at her and grinned. "Why are you walking so quickly to get to potions? I never thought you liked it very much." He said.
"I wasn't hurrying; this is just my normal pace." She replied quickly. Too quickly.
"Ah, I see. You were anxious to see me." His grin became mischievous and Hermione couldn't help but smile. "Well, now we can walk there together."
"What if someone sees us?" It came out of her mouth before she could think.
"Why should we care? They can say what they want."
"You are acting so odd. What is going on?" she questioned as she grabbed her books back.
"Am I not allowed to be nice to the girl I like?" he retorted, grabbing the books from her once again.
"Stop saying that! You have to be lying. I'm not going to fall for it!" she shouted, suddenly angry. She forcefully snatched her books from his hands and started walking quickly away. He caught up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Shocked, she let her books fall to the ground. He kissed her, sweet and loving. She couldn't help but kiss him back. She supposed he wasn't lying after all.
The sound of a throat clearing rang through the empty corridor. They broke apart and looked at their witness. "Honestly you two. Could you choose a more cliché place to make out?" Ginny reprimanded. "Anyone could have seen you."
"It's an empty hallway. I think those chances are slim." Draco replied, picking Hermione's books off the ground.
"Still, you're lucky it was only me this time. I should warn you that Harry and Ron are on their way here. Sorry, but we already agreed to meet here before fourth class." The red head said apologetically.
"Then I should leave."
"Wait one second." Hermione looked at him suspiciously. "You just said you didn't care if people saw us. You said they can say what they want."
"That was before. Now I'm thinking I'll just get to potions, or hunt down those idiots who follow me around." He countered as he handed Hermione her books for the final time.
"Fine, then go. I'll see you in potions." Hermione replied then accepted a quick kiss before he went on his way.
"Are you two a real couple now?" Ginny asked, surprised at the kiss that had just happened before her eyes.
"I-I guess so…." Hermione answered in an unsure tone. "We never talked anything through. It just happened. Are we a couple?" The last part was said more to herself than to Ginny.
"You looked awfully couple-y to me." The Weasley girl giggled.
Suddenly it all dawned on her. "Oh god…. Malfoy…. I'm being couple-y with Malfoy?! Is-is the world coming to an end? I don't understand…. This has got to end. But- oh I don't want it to end. I-"
"Whoa, Hermione! Slow down there with rant-city. I would let you continue, but here come the guys." And sure enough Harry and Ron were walking towards them. Seeing that her friend was still thinking things over and looking a bit confused and overwhelmed Ginny put a comforting arm around her.
"Hermione," Harry said when he and Ron had walked up to the girls. "Are you alright? You look a bit upset."
"What? Huh? No- no I'm fine." She replied hurriedly.
"Are you sure?" Ron asked. "You don't seem quite… well, Hermione."
"No really I'm fine. It's just nothing…."
"Anyway, you two were late" Ginny changed the subject, "so we should just get to class."
"Oh, sorry, we were at lunch." Harry offered.
"No doubt Ron was stuffing his face." The boy's sister teased.
"Was not!"
"Come on, let's get to class." Harry ended the conversation and the trio headed on their way to potions, Ginny going the other way.
Upon entering the potions room Hermione's eyes immediately met Draco's. She knew she shouldn't stare into his eyes, but she was quickly lost and couldn't help but smile at him. He gave her a warning glare and she snapped out of it.
"Hermione?" Ron looked at her suspiciously. Crap he had seen! "What are you doing?"
"Oh, I was just imagining him falling off his broomstick." She lied. Ron seemed pleased with this. Draco heard and jokingly flashed her the finger when no one was looking.
When potions was over the trio began walking out of the classroom and in the direction of the Gryffindor dormitories. Hermione stopped in the hall and said loud enough for Draco to hear, "I'm going to go to the library for a while. I'll see you all later." Then she headed to said destination. Draco did the same.
He followed her as she made her way to an aisle of books in the back of the library. "I hope you wanted me to follow you." He said when he caught up to her.
"Of course." She said with a smile. He moved toward her and began to gently kiss her when she pushed him away. "You have to stop that. Someone is going to see us. That's not why I brought us here anyway. I think we need to talk about… well… us."
"This doesn't sound like a good conversation." He said skeptically.
"I just want to know what we are." At his confused look she continued. "What I'm trying to ask is, are we a couple?"
"Do you want to be a couple?" he asked sincerely.
She was almost afraid to answer, but after a moment replied with "Yes."
"Alright then, we're a couple." She smiled at him and he felt his heart skip a beat. He put his arm around her waist as she eagerly looked over the shelves of books.
The two were further tested when Snape paired them up in Potions. All of the Gryffindors held their breath as Hermione made her way to the table she would be sharing with Draco for the day. She even tried to make a show of being unhappy about it, though she was finding it a bit difficult. Truly she was happy if not a bit nervous about the arrangement. On the Brightside she was Potions partners with her (dare she think it) boyfriend. However, she would find it difficult to act like he annoyed her and she didn't want to be there.
She sat down next to him there in the back of the classroom and felt a bit uncomfortable. She wasn't a good actress and didn't know how long she could keep up the act of hating him. What was worse was being in the back of the classroom made it tempting to act natural since everyone else was turned the other way. Except they weren't. Periodically a fellow Gryffindor would turn and give her a sympathetic look. Harry and Ron kept looking back to see how she was.
Then it got even more difficult.
Noticing that no one was watching them Draco reached over and grabbed Hermione's hand under the table. She melted a bit under his touch. He started playing with her fingers and she became too distracted to even read the directions in her textbook.
Under the din of students talking she whispered to him, "You're going to have to stop or we aren't going to get anything done. I've read the same sentence twenty times."
"Do I distract you?" He asked her cheekily.
"Frankly yes. However, we need to focus on this potion so please just cut up those mandrake leaves while I read the rest of these directions."
"Oh alright, but only because you asked."
Ron turned to see Draco and Hermione working quietly on their potion. For the first time he could remember they weren't warring at the cauldron. He turned to Harry. "Is it just me or are Hermione and Malfoy being nicer to each other lately?"
"I know what you're talking about."Harry replied. "He bumped into her in the hallway yesterday and she didn't hex him." They both looked back as Hermione told Malfoy the next set of directions and he immediately began working on them without argument. Just then Malfoy said something and they both laughed. Harry and Ron looked at each other.
This is not going well, was all Hermione could think. She and Draco were not able to act like they hated each other. They kept talking and laughing and having a good time together. It was worrying, but she felt so at ease with him. This was the first time they had acted this way. She enjoyed it and hoped they could be this way more often.
Hermione sat on her bed reading a chapter in her textbook that wouldn't be assigned for weeks. A paper airplane soared in her open window landing on the open book in her lap and covering what she had been reading. "Come out." Is all the note said. She walked over to the window and looked out to see Draco standing at the bottom. "This is too fairy tale." She mumbled to herself. He floated a broom up to the window. She eyed it warily for a moment before admitting, "I can't ride a broom."
"You can't ride a broom at all? Not even long enough to get down here?" she shook her head. He brought the broom down, got on it himself and flew up to get her.
"What are you doing?" she asked in a frightened tone when he held his hand out to help her onto the broom.
"Just take my hand and I will help you onto the broom." She shook her head at him. "Don't you trust me?" She considered for a second before finally taking his hand.
She had just chickened out again when Ginny walked into the room. She looked from Hermione to Draco in the open window and sighed. "You two are so cliché. Making out in an empty hallway, sneaking out the window in the middle of the night, what's next? Making out in the stacks of the library?" They both smirked and she sighed again. "Then never mind." She looked to Malfoy. "You didn't say the whole "Rapunzel" line, did you?"
"No. I'm not that corny."
"Thank god. Well Hermione? What are you waiting for? Just get on the freaking broom and out of here before someone else walks in."
"You know I'm scared of flying!" Hermione cried to her friend.
"Yes, but he's there so you are obviously not going to fall off the broom."
The blonde haired boy looked to her, surprised. "So you trust me now, do you?"
"Well, I have to. You are dating my best friend."
"Okay." Hermione interrupted once more taking Draco's hand. "I think I can do this." And she sat herself on the broom behind him. She was a little shaky and immediately wrapped her arms around his waist. "Bye, Ginny!" she waved to her friend as they flew off.
Little did she know two of her other friends were looking out their window, watching suspiciously as she and the Slytherin flew up to the roof.
Hermione was walking with Harry and Ron on the way to lunch when Draco came into view ahead of them. Hermione ached inside. She wished she could be walking with him at that moment. They had been together for three months now and the only person who knew was Ginny. Their relationship revolved around sneaking out at midnight and stolen glances during the day. As intriguing as having a secret relationship sounded it was not fun at all. The only thing she wanted was to be able to sit with her boyfriend in the Great Hall or walk with him to class or hang out with him when they went to Hogsmeade.
Harry and Ron saw Malfoy and looked at each other then something in them snapped. Before Hermione knew what was going on they had shouted after the Slytherin, stopping him in his tracks. "Malfoy!" They both pulled out their wands and pointed them at Draco who stood there doing nothing.
"How about you tell us what you're playing at and we won't hex you." Ron said.
"What are you two dim-wits talking about?" Malfoy questioned.
"We've seen you with Hermione." Harry answered him. "What kind of sick joke are you trying to play on her?"
Hermione went to stand in front of them. "Have you been spying on me?" she exclaimed angrily.
"No. We've seen you sneaking out your dormitory from our window." Harry answered.
"Well," she looked to Draco. "I guess we might as well tell them now."
"Tell us what?" Ron asked.
She took a deep breath. "Draco and I are together."
"That's not true." Harry said. "He's just playing some sick prank on you." They both still had their wands pointed at Malfoy.
Draco stepped forward to stand next to Hermione. "I'm not playing a joke on her." He stated with a tinge of anger in his voice. "I may have done some mean things to her in the past, but I would never do something that horrible. I love her." Harry and Ron's mouths hung open in surprise.
Hermione was shocked and then a wave of utter happiness swept over her. He loved her. For a moment she couldn't believe it. She then grabbed his hand and smiled up at him. He smiled back and she couldn't be happier. For the first time she was holding her boyfriend's hand in front of someone other than Ginny, and she didn't even care that their mouths were still hanging open.
"Ummmm…. Uh… well…" Harry stuttered. "I guess, well…."
"What are you thinking, Hermione?" Ron cried. "He's – He's Malfoy!"
"This is why I didn't tell you! You never even try to understand."
"Because he's Malfoy!"
Harry punched him in the arm. "Shut it, Ron." He said. "If Hermione likes him we have to try to accept it."
"Thanks, Harry." Hermione told him with a smile.
"You're one of my best friends, Hermione." He replied. "I have to respect your decision here. Plus you're wicked smart and wouldn't do anything stupid." Hermione was happy to hear this. "So, let's get to lunch."
Hermione and Draco entered the lunchroom hand in hand. Whispers quickly swept through the hall, everyone wondering if they got hit by a potion or spell. Ginny saw them and waved them over to the table. She was happy that she no longer had to keep that secret.
Draco sat between Hermione and Ginny at the lunch table. Harry and Ron sat on the other side. Harry was doing his best to accept the situation while Ron said nothing at all. However, Hermione didn't care that he didn't accept it. She accepted it and that was what was important.
Professor McGonagall walked by the table and saw the group sitting there. She raised her eyebrows at the brainy witch and blonde Slytherin sitting so close together, but said nothing. Moments later the teachers were all abuzz with the news.
"This is what I was afraid of." Hermione said. "We're all anyone is talking about."
"Just wait until they find out we've been together for three months." Draco replied as he put his arm around her waist and she leaned against his side. She beamed. Finally her wish had been granted.
Fin
A/N: I hope you all liked my little fic here! It took a little over a week to finish. Probably one of my quickest written fics ever.
This was all kept going by my bestie Brittany and a wonderful thing called music. Mostly David Bowie and The Ramones with some Kooks thrown in.
I'm sorry it was a bit OOC, but I find it hard for Draco to act like himself when he's dating Hermione.
My favorite character to write in this was Ginny. The first scene I wrote with her in it I wrote while also watching Gilmore Girls so she ended up being somewhat like Lorelei and I liked that.
Also, you all should check out one of my besties, ClickyPen613. He may not write Dramione, but he is quite a hilarious person.
Remember, the more reviews I get the less the wait for another fic!
So long and thanks for all the fish! ~~~Kat